At Last - Ahiru x Fakir
by Elemental Alchemist - Silver
Summary: Ahiru has remained as a duck for a year. So what will happen when Fakir turns her back into a girl? Something fishy seems to be going on. After Rue and Mytho come for a visit, an interesting man appears and charms Ahiru. Will this man win Ahiru's heart, or Fakir? Who knows, maybe you should come and find out...


Ahiru and Fakir -

At Last

Chapter One

Fakir scribbled madly on his notepad as he sat in his folding chair on the dock by the duck pond. Ahiru swam nearby, occasionally diving for plants she could eat. Fakir dotted the last sentence and looked down at his work. The last sentence surprised him:

_And so the man and his beloved ugly duckling grew old together in happiness._

Where did _that _come from? Fakir looked at the words "ugly duckling" and had the feeling they were talking about Ahiru. Well, of course they were. He couldn't write a story about anyone else. But... who was the man? And how did they grow old together? Fakir didn't seem to be able to read his own story, but he turned to Ahiru, sure he knew what to do.

"Ahiru, come here," Fakir called softly to the yellwow-feathered duck. Ahiru smiled (or, she did whatever was closest to a smile that a duck could do) and swam over to Fakir. She hopped onto the dock and Fakir got off his chair. Ahiru quacked and cocked her head in confusion as Fakir drew near. She didn't move as he knelt down and raised her head with his finger. Fakir leaned down and kissed Ahiru on the beak. Ahiru felt her skin, beneath her feathers, begin to grow red with embarrasment. Then she noticed she herself began to glow gold. Soon, in the place of where Ahiru the duck had been, Ahiru the human was sitting on her knees.

Ahiru was wearing a lovely pale yellow dress covered with yellow duck feathers. Her red hair was hanging down, and her blue eyes were wide. Her face was impossibly red from blushing. Fakir was still holding the kiss, which was now full on her lips since she was a human and didn't have a beak. Fakir opened his eyes and stared into Ahiru's. He pulled back and Ahiru covered her mouth out of shock.

"F-Fakir..." she murmured through her hand. Fakir said nothing for a moment, then leaned over and pulled her into a tight hug.

"I missed you, feather-brain," he whispered into her ear. Tears were spilling down his cheeks now and he hugged her tighter. After a moment of hesitation, Ahiru returned the hug.

Pikae and Lilie chose that moment to walk down the dock. "Fakir?" Pikae said and stopped walking. "Who is that girl?" Pikae looked around, then back at Fakir and Ahiru. "And where is that duck you named Ahiru?"

At that time, Fakir's quill sprang up and darted across a blank page. Pikae blinked, then changed her mind about a greeting. "Hello Fakir, Ahiru!" she said brightly as if her previous questions didn't exist. Then she studied the scene. "Wait a minute..." she screwed up her face. "What is this madness? Ahiru and Fakir, famous for their arguments, hugging!? Fakir, famous for his hard core, _crying!?_" Pikae sounded incredulous.

"Ooh no!" Lilie moaned in her bright, squeaky voice. "This ruins Fakir's whole bad boy look!" Ahiru looked up and waved, with a slightly confused, slightly happy, slightly _get-me-out-of-here-right-now _look on her face.

"At last..." Fakir murmured. "At last I can speak to you again." Ahiru sighed and it took a while of prying and pleading to get Fakir to let go. He looked genuinely surprised to see Pikae and Lilie there.

Later, Ahiru twirled around in her new uniform. She'd been absent from the academy for almost a year now, and she was way too big for her old one. Her aging had shown: her hips were slightly showing, her breasts fuller, and her voice was different. But she didn't mind, nor Fakir. They were just happy she was back.

"Time to go to dance lessons!" Ahiru said happily, as Pikae and Lilie exchanged looks behind her. She'd been acting strange, more grown up. (How couldn't she, with all these events?) They walked to the dance studio together, chatting about the scene at the pond. Ahiru tried to wave off all the questions, but eventually Pikae and Lilie assumed she was trying to hide something and started teasing her about liking Fakir. Blushing, she tried to wave them off, but they persisted until they reached the building.

The class passed rather quietly. Ahiru no longer daydreamed, but she was still clumsy and bad at ballet. She caused quite a ruckus when, during a lift, (Fakir was her partner) she accidentally slipped out of Fakir's grip and fell. Onto him. This made Ahiru tear up a bit with embarrasment; Fakir merely went to stand in a corner until his face returned to its normal color.

Their new teacher Mr. Neko, who still had the same name as their previous teacher (A human-sized cat who was obsessed with marriage, etc, etc), was much less eccentric than the old one. He was actually rather quiet and never shouted, just talked to you with a soft, dissapointed voice that hurt you a lot worse than shouting would've.

After ballet, the girls (and Fakir) had a whole lot of free time. Fakir took Uzura for a walk and invited Ahiru, Pikae, and Lilie. Ahiru accepted, but Pikae and Lilie politely refused (instead, stalking them to watch and see what would happen). The walk was a normal walk, but when a man accidentally bumped into Ahiru, she fell forward into Fakir's arms. His face went red again, and he helped her back to her feet, muttering, "Be careful, idiot," and stuffing his hands into his pockets. Uzura annoyed passersby by banging loudly on her drum.

After he'd taken Uzura home, had tea with Ahiru and said good bye, Fakir walked up the lookout tower on the south edge of town. He climbed up a set of stairs only he (and, he assumed, Ahiru) could see, and looked out, towards the sky. He wasn't sure why he expected the carriage to come, but come it did, holding Rue and Mutou in its arms.

"Mytho," Fakir said, a grin breaking over his face. Mytho looked happily surprised that Fakir was there. They hugged, and Fakir kissed Rue's hand, saying, "Lady Rue, how good it is to see you."

"Is Ahiru at the pond?" Rue asked, and Fakir could hear she was itching to see her.

"No, actually, she's lodging in the girl's dormitory at the academy."

Rue looked surprised. "One of the girls has her for a pet?"

"A pet...?" Fakir was confused for a moment, then his head cleared. Of course, they wouldn't know she was a girl yet. And he thought he might make it a surprise. He cleared his throat. "Oh, um, yeah, a pet, yep, one took her as a pet." Mytho raised an eyebrow, but he said nothing.

Fakir led them down, out of the tower, and back towards the academy. Rue gasped as she saw it.

"I haven't been here in so long!" she said softly, looking around. Fakir stood back a little and edged his way over to the left, so he could pick up a rock and throw it at Ahiru's window. Thankfully, she didn't yell out, but merely opened it and looked at him, puzzled. He pointed at Mytho and Rue, and, thankfully, she understood. Ahiru climbed out her window, closed it, and then crept over to a drainage pipe. She slid down to the ground on it, then crept up behind Rue and Mytho, paused for a moment, then tackled them with a hug.

Rue was overbalanced, by this sudden addition of weight, and fell forward, thankfully moving her face aside before it was squashed. She was holding Mytho's hand, so, naturally, he was brought down with her. Ahiru scrambled off of them as Fakir laughed hysterically in the background (wait, since when did Fakir laugh?) and Rue hurried to put herself into a sitting position, and confront her attacker. Mytho smiled behind her, already seeing Ahiru. Ahiru waved and he returned it.

Rue opened her eyes, and once they saw who was in front of her, they opened wider.

"A-Ahiru!" Rue said, and after that, couldn't speak. Ahiru enveloped her in another hug while Mytho got up to talk to Fakir.

"How did you...?" Mytho asked in awe as he lead Fakir aside. Fakir smiled.

"I wrote a story," he said, and with that, he rejoined the girls, smiling.


End file.
